Ice Days

Wish I'd Done That: Despite what my friend, Sharon, would say, snow and ice days are great for being lazy, playing games, staying in pajamas all day, and just general horsing around. Kids need to see you take a load off, relax and have fun. It won't kill you to miss a day of "perfection"!

In spite of the previous advice, (I like to contradict myself) I've used today's ice storm to clean closets. I know; I REALLY hate to do this. You can tell, because I've got church dresses from 1991 still in my closet.....
Anyway, the hall closet was first, and the BEST. Because in it I found those large pictures we had taken of the kids at Sears, Wal-Mart, etc. when they were very small. LA as a baby, AA as a gun-totin' cowboy - you get the idea.
I found a studio picture I'd forgotten about. One of my whole family. I was pregnant with AA - I guess it was Thanksgiving, 1986. Jana's girls and LA were wearing dresses my mom had made them. Just darling little things.
My dad was healthy and smiling between my brother Rick and Jana's husband, Bart.
If only I had known how fleeting a time; how precious that picture.
Dad began to exhibit slight Alzheimer moments in the next few years, and those days passed in a flash.
Cuddle close; and remember: enjoy today!
(If I ever get a really big scanner, and post that picture!)

Tulsa, Tea time, and Tiny cookies

Wish I'd Done That: My friend Donna suggests a great idea for cleaning up the place. She puts the timer on for 10 minutes. The kids race to see how much cleaning/picking up they can get done in that amount of time. Another friend suggested using music; 3 songs would be about 10 minutes. It's a game, it's to music, and the house gets picked up/cleaned!

Tulsa Tea Time

Mom, LA and I escaped to Tulsa last week to investigate a tearoom there. Dragonmoon is a fun girl place with lots of great food and an assortment of teas from around the world. We all tried different lunch foods; they change daily. My turkey soup with stuffing dumplings was a hit with all of us. I had some quiche, too.
The 3 cup teapot we tried was "Blue Sapphire", a tea from South Africa. Really great, and they brewed it twice, so we got lots of tea. It really hit the spot on a sleet-spitting day.

For dessert, a sugar cookie filled with chocolate ganache, a nutmeg log, and a "shooter" of pumpkin mousse. Just enough sweet after a wonderful lunch.

Here's the blue sapphire tea in their adorable cup. Take some time out and enjoy a cup of tea.
Dragonmoon is on Harvard in Tulsa, just north of 21st Street.

Thanksgiving Re-hash

Wish I'd Done That: To protect my floor while my two babies ate, Ace made me a 4 X 4 foot sheet of hard plastic to put under the highchair. It was easier to wipe up than the carpet in my dining area!

Please pray for Sharon today; she's off for chemo treatment #2. Give her peace, strength and protect her from nausea.

It was just the four of us on Thanksgiving Day since Ace's mom was still in the hospital. Ace carved up his smoked turkey - we hadn't ever done the whole-bird-on-the-table thing before. He liked doing it!

I kept waiting for that bird to go flying across the table, but Ace persevered, and he successfully carved the bird up!

LA did my flowers; they still look great today.....We had a lovely, family day of food, football and sitting in front of the fireplace.

2 days until the Open House! Bring your friends - there's going to be a door prize this year!

Party Time!

Wish I'd Done That: Choose a nondescript day, and make it special. Get out your best dishes, a nice tablecloth and the good silver and crystal. Set a nice table; use a centerpiece and candles. Your family will feel special, and you'll get to use your good stuff. Don't worry about serving a fabulous dinner (although that would be great); the idea is to do something different. In fact, it would be crazy to buy the fast food meal and serve it on china! This lets your kids use the china, and learn to be careful with mom's crystal. So what if something gets broken? This stuff is meant to be used. Don't put off the "special" occasions; make your own. Even if you don't have china, you can make the dinner special by putting candles on the table, gathering flowers from the garden, or just make an artistic centerpiece of sticks from the bushes. Whatever you do, just make it different from the normal hum-drum. Recently, the Lord's been showing me that you shouldn't postpone special things or doing the extra something you want to do.
It seems really trite, but build a fire when you want one, use the good china, buy the Harry and David pears.
While we are at a point where we have some extra to spend on special things, I'm not talking just material things. Take the time to read that book, visit someone lonely, start a poker night.
I'm in two groups from church that celebrate birthdays of the members. It's really an excuse to get together, laugh and have a great time getting to know one another better.
We all know people who say "someday". Let's be the ones who say "today".

Refrigerator Ramblings

Wish I'd Done That: My friend, Opal, suggests making sure your movies of kids' activities are not all lumped together. Keep birthdays separate from holidays, recitals, etc. She's right. All of mine are lumped together. Wordgirl and AA should have separate "videos" of their lives......Great idea!

My Refrigerator

Does yours look like this? I used to have alphabet letters and crayon drawings. Now, I've just got pics and coupons. I do have some great magnets Laura made years ago.

There are pics of my kids, my nieces, and my whole family. It's a happy reminder of times together and how important it is to treasure times together. You never know when circumstances will change.

I was reminded of this again this week. One of the guys who worked for Ace had a heart attack and died last week. He was only 52.

Since turning 50, I've been concerned about leaving a mark on others. What difference have I made in my life?

That can only be measured in eternal things, so I'm trying to concern myself with making that eternal difference. Ministering to others, using my spiritual gift of service and administration.

This week, our church is celebrating being thankful by having a missions dinner. We are a mission-oriented church, so we are looking outward into Eternity by investing our offerings on spreading the Gospel of Jesus. A group of us are cooking for 250. I love doing stuff like that: the camaraderie of fellowship in the kitchen! Then, we take an offering that is strictly for mission work.

Upcoming recipes:

The "famous" sugar cookie recipe, Julia's cranberry salsa, and other tips for a lovely holiday season.

My Life in Cups

Wish I'd Done That : WordGirl and Double A got on the bus for the 2 mile ride to school at our mailbox at the front of the house. Before I let them gather with their friends, I prayed with them on the stairs inside the house. We prayed about a test, friends, special projects, or just a simple prayer of protection and peace. I know God blessed them in those moments, because I know He blessed me. Pray out loud with your kids every day for the things that affect them.

Coffee Cups

I love to drink coffee. 5 pounds of Dunkin Donuts regular roast beans come to my house every three months or so. I love the ritual of grinding and making coffee in the morning. Best of all, I love to choose the mug I use every morning. I have my favorites. Here's one of Ace's favs. WordGirl gave him this when she was in the 1st or 2nd grade. Our elementary school had a fund-raiser where kids could choose inexpensive gifts for their family. She gave Ace this mug. It's worn out, but even tho it's faded, we can't throw it away! Who could?

This is the mug I got in Chicago in May when Double A, Ace and I went to visit WordGirl. We went to Oak Park to see all of Frank Lloyd Wright's buildings and museum there. I love the Guggenheim-ness of it! (I know, it's blurry, but you get the idea....)
This is from Lake City, Colorado. My family had a mini-reunion 2 or 3 summers ago. I always like to bring a mug home as a souvenir. I love this since it reminds me of a gorgeous place, and a special family time together.

This is a Chicago trip from years ago. The summer after WordGirl graduated from high school, we made a quick trip there. We'd never been there, so we did the museums and parks, and Navy Pier. Little did we know our oldest would head up there 4 years later to grad school. I love the Impressionist wing at the Art Institute of Chicago.

This is from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC. Ace & I went there for our 25th anniversary in 2000. What fun! I love NY!

Now, for the saddest moment........This was my very favorite mug until I knocked it off the counter and broke it. I got it in London at the National Museum. While we were over there, to fool ourselves into thinking things cheaper than reality (the dollar was weak against the pound), we pretended things were priced in dollars, rather than pounds. (2 pounds to the dollar, then) Anyway, this mug was china, and a replica of Picasso's Sunflowers. It's the perfect size, and the china is so nice to drink from. Oh, well. Clumsy......I knew it would happen some day, but I still hate that it's broken!

Tulsa Run

Wish I'd Done That: For my fussy little ones, I put them in the car (in their car seats, of course) and drove around for a while. It calmed my nerves, and put them right to sleep. Getting them out of the car was another matter, but I'm sure you will figure that out!

Ace Runs!

Ace has been training for the Tulsa Run for a few months, and Saturday, he completed it...He ran the 5K, and had lots of fun. Here, he's just crossed the finish line. He said he passed 2 pregnant women and a man with a wooden leg!

We got up early Saturday and headed south for the big race. We stayed to watch the Kenyan win the 15K. He's a runner with the Razorbacks.

There were about 9,000 runners here, and 630 ran the Tulsa Run in Iraq. Really a neat deal.

I think Ace really liked the swag he got after the race, snacks, candy bars, etc.

He set a goal and accomplished it. Great!

Hey, if anyone has a recipe for an applesauce/carrot cake, I'm looking for a good one for the church mission dinner later in November.

Have a great week!

Aunt Myrtle

Wish I'd Done That: Let your little ones dress themselves! Is this fraught with danger? Yes, but how fun. It will be great fodder for stories later on. Seriously, they need to learn, and it will help you out (eventually). Let them choose between two outfits, and then let Joey have at it. You may want to practice this before a command performance with Aunt Myrtle, but he will soon get the hang of the whole dress yourself thing.

Aunt Myrtle

OK. This isn't really Aunt Myrtle; but I did really have one. Maybe my great, great or something? Anyway, Aunt Myrtle was a tightwad of the highest magnitude. She brought cakes or pies or something to a family dinner, and only cut half of it.

She said, "We don't need to eat all of this, anyway."

If there were leftovers, of course, Aunt Myrtle always took them home so they wouldn't go to waste.

Anytime anyone in our family serves a dessert and doesn't cut the whole thing, we call her Aunt Myrtle. I wish I'd known her. Do you suppose she deserves all our spoofing?

If Aunt Myrtle were alive, she wouldn't cut any of this pie; she'd want it all for herself!

Kathy's German Chocolate Pie

(from Ace's mom)

1 1/2 Cup sugar

2 Tblsp flour

3 Tblsp cocoa

2 eggs

1 can evaporated milk

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 Cup butter, melted

1/2 Cup coconut

1 Cup chopped pecans

1 unbaked pie shell

Mix sugar, flour and cocoa. Beat eggs lightly and add dry ingredients, milk, butter and vanilla. Stir in coconut and pecans. Pour into unbaked pie shell. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 - 50 minutes, or until center looks like egg custard.

Enjoy!

Favorite Places

Wish I'd Done That: We always took our kids on a vacation every year. If you have to scrimp to do it, be sure you do. Time away from home as a family is important; you'll build family memories that will last forever.

My Favorite Places

New York

Colorado

Chicago

London

But, of course, my favorite place of all is home....

We enjoy sitting outside at our fire pit, beside our little pond, and relax and talk. A simple thing I'm thankful for.

Girls Weekend

Wish I'd Done That: Share responsibilities - don't try to be SuperMom. You can't do everything yourself. While children are little, let them "help" fold clothes, put away dishes, and dust. They'll be in the habit of doing it, it will be fun, and they won't know they're working! You'll find that those little ones can really help.

Last year, I had an idea to gather all the girls in our family together for a weekend of fun and craziness. These are 4 of my 5 nieces (one had just broken her leg playing basketball and so was unavailable to come....) my mom and Lauren.

We did a craft project for the nursing home where sister Jana is a nurse, watched movies, cooked and shopped.

I'm not saying the craft projects were beautiful, but the centerpieces we made for the homes' Valentine's Day decorations were made with love.

Since we are like many families, we are scattered over portions of Oklahoma, Kansas and Illinois and we don't see one another very often. I've had such fun with my 2 sisters, I wanted Lauren to experience some "girl time" with the rest of the family.

My two sisters are on the right, and Mom next to me on the left. We all look so much alike, and Mom looks so young, we are sometimes mistaken for 4 sisters. Mom just loves that.

It's hard getting everyone together, but its so worth it. I encourage all of you to get your family together. Start early. Our next one is going to be the summer of 09, after Lauren graduates from DePaul. That gives us all time to get organized.

Any ideas for a theme, project, or ideas you all have? Let me know. Love to all the Headrick girls....